Contributions to the Québec Pension Plan

Who contributes to the Québec Pension Plan?

Contributions are paid by workers aged 18 and over whose employment income is greater than the basic exemption of $3500

Notethat...

Beneficiaries of a disability pension no longer contribute to the Plan.

Basic exemption

A worker must contribute to the Plan if his or her employment earnings are greater than $3500. The amount of the exemption is reduced if the worker was not entitled to participate in the Plan for the whole year.

The basic exemption is reduced if, during the year, the worker:

reaches the age of 18

began receiving a disability pension

stopped receiving a disability pension

died

How long does the contributory period last?

The contributory period begins in the month following a person's 18th birthday regardless of whether he or she works. If a person's 18th birthday fell before 1 January 1966, his or her contributory period begins on that date.

The contributory period used to calculate the benefits ends at the end of the earliest of the following months:

the month preceding the one in which a retirement pension begins;

the month of the 70th birthday;

the month of death.

For disability benefits, the contributory period ends at the end of the month in which the person became disabled.

Notethat...

If a person is receiving a retirement pension and continues to work, he or she must contribute to the Plan once their earnings exceed the $3500 basic exemption. Those contributions will give entitlement to a pension increase known as the
retirement pension supplement.

It is possible that certain months will not be taken into account when calculating the contributory period, which could give entitlement to a certain benefits under the Québec Pension Plan or even increase the amount; if they are:

months for which a person received a
disability pension under the Québec Pension Plan or the Canada Pension Plan or
an unreduced income replacement indemnity from the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST)

as of 1966 (the year in which the Québec Pension Plan came into effect), any months for which a person received
family benefits paid by
the Québec governmentor theCanadian government for a child under 7 or the months for which a person was eligible for such benefits but none were payable

months for which a person's earnings were the lowest (up to 15% of the period).